


Out of the Ordinary

by triste



Category: Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-09
Updated: 2015-01-09
Packaged: 2018-03-06 21:26:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,049
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3149075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/triste/pseuds/triste
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Now, because my Alibaba-chan is such a dunce, here’s the cue for you to take me into your arms.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Out of the Ordinary

Title: Out of the Ordinary  
Author: Triste  
Fandom: Magi  
Pairing: Alibaba/Kougyoku  
Rating: PG  
Warnings: Modern day AU  
Status: Complete  
Disclaimer: Not mine

The perfect waifu Alibaba series continues, and now it's Kougyoku's turn! The final instalment will probably feature Hakuryuu, because the poor boy has completely lost the plot in the manga and needs some wifely love to restore his sanity. 

~~

When Kougyoku’s last lecture of the day finishes early, she decides against hanging out with her college friends for a while and goes straight to Alibaba’s place instead. They’ve arranged to meet up anyway and since she knows Alibaba doesn’t have work on Wednesdays, she figures it shouldn’t be a problem if she turns up sooner than expected. 

She takes out her cell phone, about to text him and let him know she’s on her way, but then she changes her mind. It’ll be a nice surprise, she thinks, imagining the look on Alibaba’s face when he opens the door. It’ll make him happy, and when Alibaba is happy, Kougyoku is, too.

But any happiness Kougyoku currently feels disappears upon reaching the street where Alibaba’s apartment block is located.

Alibaba’s front door is open, and he seems to be seeing off a visitor. Kougyoku doesn’t recognise them until they turn around with a smile and a wave, and her heart sinks in her chest when she sees Hakuei’s face.

Hiding behind a nearby lamppost, Kougyuku’s brain immediately goes into overdrive.

What business does that woman have with Alibaba? He may be close to her younger brother Hakuryuu, but he’s never spent much time with Hakuei, at least to Kougyoku’s knowledge, and what little interaction they do have tends to be pleasant but polite.

More importantly, why would Hakuei be visiting Alibaba at home? Surely a café or a shopping mall would be a better meeting location. How does she know where he lives? 

It’s all very suspicious, and Kougyoku makes sure to remain undetected until Hakuei is out of sight.

She gives it another few more minutes before making her own way up to Alibaba’s apartment, checking her appearance in her hand mirror first – good, she doesn’t look flustered or out of character – before ringing the doorbell.

Alibaba does indeed look surprised when he answers, but not – thank god – alarmed by Kougyoku’s presence. In fact, he seems completely normal as he invites her inside, and not like he has anything to hide.

She’s probably overthinking things, but Kougyoku attempts to fish for information anyway once Alibaba has finished serving her tea and snacks.

“Have you been out today?” she asks, in what she hopes is an innocent sounding question.

“Not yet,” Alibaba replies, again seemingly unaware that she’s playing detective. “Why, is there someplace you’d like to go?”

“Nowhere!” Kougyoku squeaks, before coughing to cover the embarrassment. “I mean I’m fine just staying here with you.”

“Really?” Alibaba smiles, and for a second Kougyoku forgets about interrogating him. “Well, the weather’s been getting colder these days, so I figured I’d make hotpot to warm us up a little. Does that sound good to you?”

Kougyoku nods eagerly, because Alibaba’s cooking is always something worth looking forward to, and tries not to dwell upon her initial criticisms of it when they first met, too used to the more cultured and elegant cuisines on offer from the chefs back at home to appreciate Alibaba’s simpler tastes. 

(“Like something a lowly housewife would make!” she remembers telling him haughtily on sampling the stew he placed in front of her, and then the guilt that came afterwards with Alibaba’s laughter and his confession that it was one of his late mother’s favourite recipes.)

“That would be wonderful, thank you,” she replies, once she’s stopped being distracted by food. “Incidentally, did you not have any visitors either?”

Alibaba looks her straight in the eye and says, “Nope. Nobody came by today except for you.”

Kougyoku struggles to keep the shock out of her voice, but she can’t stop the stammer that slips out when she says, “I-I see. It’s nothing, I was just curious.”

He’s lying. He most definitely did have a visitor. Kougyoku knows. She saw. And yet, for whatever reason, Alibaba is pretending he didn’t. 

Unlike Alibaba, she’s not good at keeping her true feelings under the surface and pretending she’s okay. When she’s upset, anxious, afraid or angry, she can’t help letting other people know. Kougyoku may have grown up well mannered and eloquent, but her emotions are the one thing she’s never been able to fully control.

Still, she tries her best to give Alibaba the impression that there’s nothing out of the ordinary. Whether he buys it or not is anyone’s guess, but somehow, Kougyoku manages to hold on until she’s safely home.

Then everything spills out.

Why is Alibaba lying? What is he hiding? What does it have to do with Hakuei? What were the two of them doing? Is this the first time Hakuei has been to Alibaba’s apartment? What if she’s been there before? Why didn’t Alibaba tell her?

Why, why, why?

She only stops tormenting herself when Kouha pounds on the wall and shouts that her pacing is driving him crazy, but even then Kougyoku can’t stop thinking about it.

She’s about to open up her laptop and consult the internet, and then stops at the last second. She’s sure she’d only see things that would put the wrong ideas into her head, and she’s being paranoid enough already.

No, Kougyoku tells herself, taking in deep, even breath, and letting it slowly out. She needs to calm down. She needs to stop assuming things. More importantly, she needs to trust Alibaba. 

That’s right, she thinks, having successfully reached a state of composure. Alibaba is one of her most precious people. He would never betray her or make her cry. He’s far too loyal and devoted for that. He may be kind of a dork, and maybe a little pathetic, but he’s kind, considerate and the kind of person who would put everyone else he loves before himself.

It’ll all work out. Kougyoku believes in him.

Or at least she did until Alibaba spends the next fortnight avoiding her. His texts, usually so regular – if a little spontaneous (he likes to send Kougyoku random pictures of things like flowers, or cats, or pretty sunsets) – slow down to a trickle, and it becomes almost impossible for Kougyoku to restrain the urge to start spamming him with messages.

Even worse, he avoids seeing her in person, and claims to be busy when Kougyoku asks if he wants to meet up. 

It makes her feel a tiny bit better to learn that he’s not the only one she’s been avoiding, because Hakuryuu hasn’t seen him either.

“My sister has, though,” he says. “I believe they went out shopping together recently.”

Kougyoku asks him what for, but Hakuryuu doesn’t know any more than she does.

That settles it. There’s no other explanation.

Alibaba is cheating on her with Hakuei.

At first Kougyoku isn’t sure what to do, or how to react. She should probably be distressed, or at least furious, but the rational part of her brain that hasn’t been completely overwhelmed by paranoia points out that she doesn’t have any proof.

Should she hire a private detective? Get them to take a lie detector test?

Just when she’s trying to choose the best course of action to take, Kougyoku’s cells phone rings.

It’s Alibaba.

“I know it’s short notice, but could you come over to my place? There’s something I want to tell you.”

“Can’t you tell me now?” asks Kougyoku, fighting against the rising tide of panic.

“You need to be here in person,” Alibaba says. “It’s important.”

Panic turns to dread.

This is it, the scene from so many of the soppy chick flicks Kougyoku loves but would never admit to watching.

Alibaba is officially going to break up with her.

She should yell at him, Kougyoku thinks, should shout and scream and cry, and maybe break a few of his fingers as punishment, but oddly enough, she can’t bring herself to feel anything anymore.

She only feels empty.

As requested, she goes to Alibaba’s apartment. She expects to see him looking solemn and withdrawn. What she gets is him looking nervous and excited.

It doesn’t make any sense, but Kougyoku takes a seat at the table anyway and steadily meets his gaze.

“Well? What was it you wanted you tell me?”

“Show you, actually,” Alibaba corrects, taking out a gift-wrapped object from behind his back and handing it to Kougyoku. “Come on, open it up.”

Kougyoku goes from feeling numb to feeling confused, and she slowly unwraps the present. There’s a sweater inside, hand made if its appearance is anything to go by, and Kougyoku stares at it blankly.

“Sorry I haven’t really been in touch these past couple of weeks,” Alibaba says, sounding a bit subdued by Kougyoku’s lacking response. “Making this kind of took up all my spare time. Hakuei-san said I shouldn’t have rushed it so much, but I wanted to get it finished as soon as I could. She’s the one who taught me how to knit, by the way,” he adds, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. “I asked if she’d come over to show me, but I didn’t say anything because I wanted to keep it a secret.”

“You went shopping with her, didn’t you?” Kougyoku says. “Hakuryuu-chan told me.”

Alibaba laughs. “I had no idea there were so many different kinds of yarn. And then there are all the different kinds of knitting needles. Who knew handicrafts were so hardcore.”

Kougyoku blinks. “That’s it?”

Alibaba’s face falls. “Um, yeah?”

Relief washes over Kougyoku like a tidal wave, and she bursts into tears. “I’m so happy!” she wails, and Alibaba goes from being dejected to being vaguely terrified.

He’s used to this by now though, and he passes a handkerchief for Kougyoku to use. It’ll probably end up joining the others as part of her collection later. She keeps all the handkerchiefs Alibaba has lent her. Judar thinks it’s creepy. Kougyoku thinks it’s romantic.

“Sorry,” Alibaba says again, gesturing to the sweater. “I know it kind of sucks for a first attempt, and I know you prefer fancier clothes instead of frumpy stuff like this. You don’t actually have to wear it or anything. I just wanted to make you something nice. To celebrate our anniversary and all.”

“Anniversary?” Kougyoku echoes.

Alibaba gives her the thumbs up sign. “It’s been six months to the day since we started going out.”

The tears start welling up once more, and Alibaba goes back to looking terrified. 

“I should be the one to apologise,” Kougyoku insists, dabbing her eyes with the handkerchief. “I feel bad enough for thinking you were having an affair, and now I feel even lousier because I never knew it was our anniversary. I’m the worst girlfriend ever.”

Alibaba’s expression is one of utter confusion. “An affair? With who?”

“Never mind,” Kougyoku says, smiling through the tears. Trust Alibaba to be his usual dense self. “But you know,” she continues, a scolding note in her voice, “even though you wanted it to be a surprise, you shouldn’t have kept me completely in the dark like that. You also shouldn’t give your significant other any reason to be insecure.”

“Yeah,” Alibaba agrees, smiling back. “Sorry for making you worry. I’m also sorry for being an idiot.”

“Very well.” Kougyoku gives a dainty little ‘ahem’. “Now, because my Alibaba-chan is such a dunce, here’s the cue for you to take me into your arms.”

And he does, pulling Kougyoku into an embrace and resting his chin on the top of her head. She leans into him with a sigh, soaking in his warmth. 

“Your Alibaba-chan, huh?” he says, amusement in his voice.

“Of course,” Kougyoku says primly. “I have no intention of giving you up to anyone. I have a black belt in karate and I’m not afraid to use it.” Her left hand seeks out his right, lacing their fingers together once they touch and giving them a gentle squeeze. “Thanks for the sweater, by the way.”

“You’re welcome,” Alibaba says, squeezing back. “And happy anniversary.”

 

End.


End file.
